Muslims flee capital | Food stalls stand empty as terrified Muslim traders fear gun-wielding Christian militia
BANGUI, Central African Republican (Reuters) — An exodus of Muslim traders fleeing attacks by Christian militia in Central African Republic has pushed food markets there to the brink of collapse, threatening the nation with even deeper crisis.
The United Nations estimates that 1.3 million people, which is more than a quarter of the population, are already in need of urgent food aid after months of communal violence that French and African peacekeepers have been unable to stop.
The poor, landlocked country de-scended into chaos after the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in March.
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Looting, rape and murder followed, bringing international pressure that saw Seleka leader Michel Djotodia resign last month. That in turn has been followed by Christian militia attacks on Muslims.
Tens of thousands of terrified Muslims have fled the capital Bangui in recent months, many of them in-volved in trade with neighbouring countries that once kept the city of 800,000 supplied with staples such as sugar, flour, fuel and soap.
Dozens of dusty stalls stand empty in the market of Petevo, and meat is scarce because the Muslim traders who control the trade in cattle from Chad deserted the city. Only small amounts of pork are available from pigs raised locally.
“We are very worried because if these shortages last longer, there will be nothing left in the market and a lot more people will die of hunger,” said Nadege Kodo, a woman dressed in colourful traditional robes who was searching for supplies.
The country is in dire need, with the United Nations reporting that nine out of 10 people are eating just once a day.
Trucking routes from Cameroon have closed as machete- and gun-wielding Christian militiamen prowl the countryside, slaughtering Muslims. Hundreds of trucks are stranded at the border because Muslims do most of the driving jobs.
Oxfam and Action Contre la Faim say supplies of staples to Bangui come from 40 wholesalers who im-port provisions. Fewer than 10 of these wholesalers remain, and they threaten to leave soon if security does not improve.
“There’s already a very serious food crisis in Central African Republic,” said Steve Cockburn, Oxfam’s re-gional campaigns manager.
“The problem is that the situation is going to get much, much worse. Unless communities are better protected, more populations, more traders, more herders will leave the country and there’ll be a breakdown in supply in Bangui and beyond.”
A spate of daylight attacks on Muslims, including one by uniformed members of the armed forces, has raised alarm on the dusty streets of the capital.
A member of the transitional parliament was recently shot dead a day after calling for Christian militias to be disarmed.
Medecins Sans Frontiers said it recently treated 100 patients for bullet and machete wounds at a sprawling camp beside Bangui airport, home to 100,000 homeless people.
“People are coming in without noses, ears, nipples,” said Lindis Hurum, MSF’s departing project co-ordinator at the camp.
“One guy came in holding his head to keep it from falling as he was cut with an axe on each side of the neck.”
The International Criminal Court said it would open a preliminary enquiry into possible war crimes.
The United Nations said more than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 800,000 displaced, half of them in Bangui.
More than 245,000 Central Africans and 30,000 citizens of other nations have already fled the country. With the planting season only a month away and most farmers without access to seed, donors worry the food crisis will worsen.
The cost of what little food remains in the capital has soared. The price of manioc, a staple, has risen by 20 percent since November, while beef has more than doubled in price as cattle farmers flee to the bush.
“I have to travel 150 kilometres to find meat now,” Patrick Blossangar, head of the butchers association, said at the market in Bangui’s Combatant district.
The price of cattle has more than doubled, to about $1,600 a head from $600.
The insecurity is also affecting humanitarian aid.
The World Food Programme has 27 trucks carrying rice and corn flour stranded at the Cameroon border, with their drivers unwilling to proceed, said WFP’s Alexis Masciarelli.
The UN agency now plans to airlift 90 tonnes of food per day from Cameroon over the next month, at five times the cost of trucking.
“We have no other options,” Masciarelli said.
